''Sing the Sorrow'' is the sixth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

. Recorded at Cello Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

between 2002 and 2003, the album was produced by

Jerry Finn Jermone Gregory Finn (March 31, 1969 – August 21, 2008), sometimes credited as "Huckle" Jerry Finn, was an American record producer and mix engineer. He worked with numerous punk rock and pop-punk artists such as Blink-182, AFI, Sum 41, ...

and

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

. ''Sing the Sorrow'' received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its melodies and musicianship, as well as its mature sound in comparison to the band's previous material. The album sold 96,000 copies in its first week of release in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, reaching number 5 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 '' Ab ur ...

, and also charted in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It has since been certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), as well as being certified Platinum in

. The album was supported by three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

: "

Girl's Not Grey "Girl's Not Grey" is a song by American rock band AFI. It was released as the debut single from their sixth studio album ''Sing the Sorrow'' in 2003. "Girl's Not Grey" was released to radio on February 4, 2003. It is the band's third most succes ...

", " The Leaving Song Pt. II" and "

Silver and Cold "Silver and Cold" is a song by American rock band AFI. It was the third single released from their sixth studio album ''Sing the Sorrow'' in 2003, reaching radio on November 11. A music video was directed by John Hillcoat. It received moderate ai ...

", which have since successfully charted within the

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

and

Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alterna ...

charts.

Music and lyrics

Musically, ''Sing the Sorrow'' is a departure from the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered b ...

genres featured in the band's previous material. The album features elements of hardcore punk,

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

, and

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

. More experimental than previous AFI albums, ''Sing the Sorrow'' includes instruments other than guitar, bass and drums, such as

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. Lyrically, the album is darker and more poetic than the band's previous material. The opening track features some electronic programming from

Jade Puget Jade Errol Puget (born November 28, 1973) is an American musician and producer, best known as the guitarist for the rock band AFI (joined in 1998), the guitarist/writer for the straight edge hardcore band XTRMST, and the keyboardist/synthesi ...

. A hidden song is included, which leads into a

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

poem accompanied by piano keys and distorted

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

sounds.

Artwork and liner notes

''Sing the Sorrow'' was released with three different covers, featuring different colors for the text, logo, and iconography. The colors were red, silver and black. The original cover features red artwork. Several of the first pressings in the

and

featured the silver cover, but the pressings are now rare and out of print, although the digital version of ''Sing the Sorrow'' among

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

still features the silver artwork. The black cover was solely available at performing shows within the United States tour following the album's release, and through the official fan club's online store as well. The black cover is now rare and out of print, with only 2,500 copies in circulation. International versions of the album use different artwork on the album label. Often contain a picture of an inverted

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

whilst other contain a

foraminifer Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly an ...

or a dead bird. All of the pictures are taken from the book ''Animals'' by Jim Harter. Some versions, including the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

edition, feature no artwork on the album label, and have inconsistent cover artwork from other versions.

Release

The album was released on March 11, 2003, through

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...

. In mid-to-late June and mid-to-late July, the group appeared on the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

Special limited edition

A special limited edition was released that included the short film ''Clandestine'' on DVD, directed by

Norwood Cheek Norwood J. Cheek, Jr., aka Norwood Cheek, is an American director, producer, and editor of film and television. He is known for his music videos and his work with Super 8 film. Background Cheek is from Eden, North Carolina and graduated from ...

. It also contained a 60-page booklet featuring extensive artwork and lyrics as well. The film is eight minutes in length and stars all four band members. The film contains references to imagery and concepts from the album. The film focuses on the four band members trying to obtain a mysterious box which bears resemblance to the ''Sing the Sorrow'' album cover. The film features two playable soundtracks, one by bassist

Hunter Burgan Hunter Lawrence Burgan (born May 14, 1976) is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the third and current bassist of AFI. Biography Burgan was born in Los Angeles County, California and grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is a vegan. ...

and the other by guitarist Jade Puget. Only 20,000 copies were pressed.

Reception

Critical response to ''Sing the Sorrow'' was mostly very positive. The review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

scored the album an 81 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, with the mention of "universal acclaim". ''

E! Online E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversa ...

'' called it a "well-crafted mix of hardcore bluster, determined melody and anthemic grandness that boasts depth and texture rarely heard from the Warped Tour ilk." ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' awarded the album a perfect score, saying that, "''Sing the Sorrow'' soars with the kind of melodies hit singles are made of, yet it somehow persists with AFI's esoteric darkness."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Emerging in early 2003 with ''Sing the Sorrow'', it's clear the molting process AFI began with ''Black Sails in Sunset'' is complete," and concluded that, "Whatever factions of the band's longterm fans might think of their major-label affiliation, ''Sing the Sorrow'' represents a coalescing of the band's sound." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' awarded the album a 4 out of 5, claiming that "''Sing the Sorrow'' is not exactly a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, but it does have a singleness of dark purpose that builds in momentum as the disc progresses." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' rated ''Sing the Sorrow'' as the tenth-best album of 2003. Conversely, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the album a 'D', commenting that "The songs combine the most pretentious and overworked elements of their influences." The album ranked number 77 in the October 2006 issue of ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' magazine's List of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time. The album's lead single, "

", received a 2003 VMA for the 'Best MTV2 Music Video' category. ''Alternative Press'' ranked "Girl's Not Grey" at number 63 on their list of the best 100 singles from the 2000s.

Singles

Three singles, each with an accompanying music video, were released from ''Sing the Sorrow'': "

", " The Leaving Song Pt. II," and "

." "Girl's Not Grey" was the highest-charting single, reaching No. 7 on the

chart, No. 33 on the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, and No. 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The second single, "The Leaving Song Pt. II" charted at No. 16 on the Alternative Songs chart, No. 31 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, No. 27 in Australia, and No. 43 in the UK. The third and final single, "Silver and Cold" reached No. 7 on the Alternative Songs chart and No. 39 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Track listing

B-sides and outtakes

All songs presumably recorded during the ''Sing the Sorrow'' sessions unless otherwise noted. * "Reivers' Music" is featured on the DVD of the special limited edition album and the "Girl's Not Grey" single, as well as the ''336'' EP (2002), on which it backs the demo version of "Now the World". * Demo versions of "Synesthesia", "This Celluloid Dream", "The Great Disappointment", "Paper Airplanes (makeshift wings)", "...But Home is Nowhere", "The Leaving Song", and "Now the World" can be found as b-sides on the album's single releases. * "Rabbits are Roadkill on Rt. 37" was released on the '' MySpace Records: Volume 1'' compilation in November 2005 and as a bonus track on the UK and Australian editions of ''

Decemberunderground ''Decemberunderground'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band AFI, released on June 6, 2006, through Interscope Records. The album was supported by three singles, " Miss Murder", " Love Like Winter", and " The Missing Frame". Record ...

'' (2006). * "

Carcinogen Crush ''Decemberunderground'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band AFI, released on June 6, 2006, through Interscope Records. The album was supported by three singles, " Miss Murder", " Love Like Winter", and " The Missing Frame". Recordi ...

" was recorded during the ''Sing the Sorrow'' sessions, but the band felt that it did not fit the album. It was later re-recorded during the ''Decemberunderground'' sessions, but remained unreleased. It was eventually released as a bonus track on the video game '' Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' (2007) and as a digital single on December 4, 2007. It was also featured on the "

Medicate "Medicate" is a song by the American rock music, rock band AFI (band), AFI, released as the first Single (music), single from their 2009 album ''Crash Love''. It was released as a music download through iTunes on August 25, 2009, and made its ra ...

" UK vinyl and the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese version of ''

Crash Love ''Crash Love'' is the eighth studio album by the rock band AFI. Produced by Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee, it was released on September 29, 2009, through Interscope Records. Background and recording Following the touring cycle for 2006's ''De ...

'' (2009). The ''Sing the Sorrow'' version remains unreleased. * "100 Words" was not released until 2009 on the deluxe version of ''Crash Love''.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's booklet. ;AFI *

Davey Havok David Paden Marchand (born David Paden Passaro, November 20, 1975), known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band AFI (band), AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

, spoken word vocals *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, programming,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals *

Adam Carson Adam Alexander Carson (born February 5, 1975) is the drummer of the alternative rock band AFI (band), AFI. He and Davey Havok are the two original members left in the lineup. Carson also filled in as drummer for the psychobilly band Tiger Army ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, backing vocals ;Additional musicians * Susie Katayama – cello *

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (born May 27, 1966) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the bands Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, and Imperial Drag. He has also spent several years as a member of Beck's backing band, contri ...

– additional keys on "...But Home is Nowhere" * Anna-Lynne Williams – guest female vocal * Jasmine Weist – Guest female vocal *

Nick 13 Kearney Nick Jones, better known by his stage name Nick 13, is the lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter of psychobilly band Tiger Army, as well as a solo artist in the Americana/ country genre. Career Tiger Army Tiger Army was sign ...

– additional backing vocals *

Geoff Kresge Geoff Kresge is a songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and record producer. He played with the punk rock/ horror punk band AFI for most of their early career, from 1992 through 1997, and co-wrote the majority of their early material alongside fron ...

– additional backing vocals * Chris Holmes – additional backing vocals *

Ralph Saenz Ralph Michael Saenz (born May 17, 1965), better known as Michael Starr, is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist and occasional guitarist of the comedic glam metal band Steel Panther. Early life Ralph Michael Saenz was ...

– additional backing vocals * Matt Wedgley – additional backing vocals * Steve Cunningham – additional backing vocals * St. Mileon's Church – choir * Gibson Casian – spoken word vocals * Hans Wold – spoken word vocals ;Production *

– producer, mixing, additional backing vocals *

– producer, additional backing vocals * Joe McGrath – recording, additional backing vocals * Chris Holmes – assistant engineer * Alan Mason – assistant engineer * Dan Chase – assistant engineer * Stacey Dodds – assistant engineer, vocoder on "Death of Seasons" * Alan Sanderson – assistant engineer * Alan Mason – additional technical assistant * Garner Knutsen – drum technician * Mike Fasano – drum technician * Brian Gardner – mastering * Luke Wood – A&R, additional backing vocals * Jason Noto – art direction, design * Doug Cunningham – art direction, design *

Alan Forbes Alan Forbes is a poster artist, painter, tequila connoisseur, and sobriety expert. who lives in San Francisco, California. He does posters and album work for The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. He has also created the iconic logo for The Black Crowes ...

– icon illustration * Matthew Welsh – photography

Certifications and chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

;Standard edition ;Special limited edition

Legacy

In November 2022, the band announced that it would play the full album for the first and only time at the

Kia Forum Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Laffit Pincay Jr., Pincay Drive and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem Co ...

in Los Angeles on March 11, 2023, the album's 20th anniversary. Jawbreaker,

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work has blended elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music. Raised in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began writin ...

, and

Choir Boy ''Choir Boy'' is a coming-of-age play by American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. The play premiered in September 2012 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, before going on to play productions at New York City Center, Alliance Theatre, Geffe ...

are slated to open the event.

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sing The Sorrow AFI (band) albums 2003 albums Albums produced by Butch Vig Albums produced by Jerry Finn 2003 video albums DreamWorks Records albums